Osteochondral fracture of the knee treated with bioabsorbable implants in two adolescents


Published online: Apr 27 2008

Peter Lüthje, Ilona Nurmi-Lüthje

From the Kuusankoski Regional Hospital, Kuusankoski, Finland and the University of Helsinki, Finland

Abstract

We present two patients, respectively 14 and 18 years old, who sustained an osteochondral fracture of the weight-bearing part of the lateral femoral condyle, which was treated operatively with biodegradable self-reinforced polylactide rods. The first patient was operated 60 days after the injury, the second one on the third day. The clinical and functional results were good in both cases one year postoperatively. MRI showed a good bony union of the osteochondral fragments.